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| Using Present Simple | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014/10/14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In business English you should use the present simple tense to talk and write about the following meanings:
All these meanings are not about time. In fact, the present simple is a tense which is not about time at all. If I say: “Taiwan is an island” this sentence is not a sentence about time, it’s about a timeless fact. It does not mean Taiwan is an island now, yesterday it wasn’t. If I say: “I like coffee”, this is also a sentence about a timeless fact. It does not mean I only like coffee now, tomorrow I will prefer tea. So you must always remember, present simple does not mean present time.
Task 1: Match the sentences to the meanings below by writing the relevant letter in the column on the right. Look at the example.
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*2014/10/17更新
Feedback
Check out your answers below.
* You’ll notice that for some of the answers it’s a bit difficult to say clearly exactly what they are, and that some have two possibilities. This is because without a bit more context and understanding of the situation, it’s sometimes difficult to say whether a sentence is clearly an opinion or a desire.
* However, don’t worry if your answers are quite different. The main point is that you understand all these sentences are not about present time.
* Many people are often confused about this. They think that because the name of the tense is present simple, that it means present time. In fact, this tense is usually used to describe things which are not about time. The sentences in the previous task are statements of fact or desire or opinion, and not statements about an action or a state which only exists at the moment of speaking. If this is difficult for you to understand, don’t try to understand it, just learn it, remember it, and use it!
* When you are using the present simple tense to talk or write about other people, as opposed to talking to others or about yourself, don’t forget to add ‘s’ to the verb: I go to /you go to/she goes to the gym every Friday afternoon.
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